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Witnesses reported seeing smoke trailing from a 1968 Beech A23-24 Musketeer Super III and said the engine was running rough and sputtering before a deadly crash in Oklahoma City on Dec. 10, 2023. The plane hit a 15-foot pile of concrete rubble and caught fire, while the pilot desperately tried to save his wife from the wreckage. The NTSB preliminary report reveals more insight into the crash, with reports of what witnesses saw before the crash, evidence of significant oil leaks and a recent oil analysis lab report.The pilot told Wiley Post Airport (PWA) tower communications he was holding short of runway 35R on taxiway A1, ready to depart to the north side under visual flight rules. According to the ADS-B track data, the plane lifted off before midfield and was climbing through 300 feet above ground level as it flew over the end of the runway. A security camera on a hangar near the east end of taxiway A5 captured the plane in a climb. The Musketeer continued its climb to the north and there was possible evidence of smoke behind the plane. ADS-B data showed the plane in a climb and two minutes later, it entered a left turn toward the south and the pilot told the tower they were returning for a landing.Within seconds of telling the tower about a return for landing, the pilot reported that the plane was losing power. Shortly after, the plane was halfway through a 180-degree turn toward the airport when it entered a descent from 2,100 ft mean sea level. A few seconds later, the pilot declared an emergency and the tower cleared him to land on the runway of his choice. A minute later, the tower controller said the surface wind was from 320 degrees at five knots.
ADS-B data shows the plane continuing its descent to the airport and aligning with runway 17R. The final ADS-B was recorded about 0.5 miles north of the runway at an altitude of about 1,375 ft msl. At the time, the plane's ground and vertical speed were 64 knots and -704 feet per minute. The same camera that captured the climb captured its descent toward the airport, showing it nearing with light-colored smoke trailing behind the plane. One minute later, dark smoke could be seen rising from the crash scene.
Two witnesses told investigators that there was smoke trailing behind the plane and the engine was "running rough shortly before," the crash. Another witness said the trailing smoke was a grey/white color and a third said the engine was sputtering as it flew over his position and made the 180-degree turn back to the airport. The aircraft hit a 15-foot-tall pile of concrete rubble at a concrete recycling factory on a roughly 180-degree heading. A post-impact fire ensued and both the pilot and passenger were killed.
According to KOCO News 5 ABC, the two on board were confirmed to be husband and wife Barrett and Megan Ellis. The University of Oklahoma Foundation shared a message about the passing of Barrett, the attorney for the OU Foundation, and his wife Megan who was the executive director of The Sooner Nation Collective. Calm Waters, a grief center for children and families, also shared news of the passing of board member Megan and her husband Barrett. The center shared that before their passing, the couple shared their intent to sponsor a child grief therapy room. In memory of the couple, Calm Waters will commemorate them with "The Ellis Family Child Therapy Room."
The Oklahoma City Fire Department said they arrived on the scene to find the pilot, Barrett Ellis, trying to rescue his wife from the fully engulfed plane wreckage. The firefighters worked to extinguish the flames and began treating Ellis while his wife was pronounced dead on the scene. Ellis was taken to the hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Parts of the plane, including the upper portion of the nose landing gear and nose wheel and tire were found separated on the top of the rubble. One of the tire tracks was outlined by a substance consistent with engine oil. Some of the fractured segments were also coated in a thin layer of what looked like engine oil. The main wreckage came to wrest about 40 feet beyond the rubble pile, containing the fuselage, engine, propeller, left wing, inboard portion of the right-wing and tail section. The left main landing gear was found separated from the wing about 60 feet past the main wreckage. Most of the wreckage was damaged in the fire, including the fuselage skin and structure. The examination of the flight control system was limited due to the extensive thermal damage but there was no indication of flight control cable separation. The airframe examination did not reveal any pre-impact mechanical malfunction or failure that would have impacted normal operation.
The Musketeer was normally parked in a hangar at the southeast corner of PWA. Inside the hangar investigators found 11 empty one-quart bottles of Aeroshell W100 engine oil. There was other evidence of minor oil puddling on the asphalt floor with a noticeable nose wheel tire tread track in oil. There was no evidence of an oil leak on the asphalt between the hangar door and the unmarked taxiway alongside the hangars. There was a significant oil leak with puddling on the unmarked asphalt taxiway, consistent with the plane being stationary for an extended period while the engine was running. Investigators also found oil spray from the propeller wash blowing oil aft. The nose landing gear also left a noticeable dark black, oily, tire track as the plane moved toward taxiway C1. There was evidence of oil trips and nose wheel tire tracks on the taxiway and the oil trail continued to the runup pad.
There was another significant oil leak with puddling on the runup pad, consistent with the plane being stationary for an extended time with the engine running. There was additional oil spray found caused by the propeller wash blowing oil aft. An oil trail followed the plane as it taxied from the runup pad to the hold short lines for runway 35R. Investigators found evidence of an oil leak where the plane came to a stop before the hold short lines as well.
The engine was round still attached to the mounts but showed extensive fire damage. The exhaust was crushed upward and aft and numerous parts of the engine were consumed in the post-impact fire. The NTSB report said there was an opening punched out the top of the engine case inboard the No. 2 cylinder base. There were numerous holes punched out the lower side of the engine case inside the oil sump between cylinders Nos. 1 and 2. The connecting rods Nos. 1, 2 and 3 were found to be broken and deformed. There was a crack found in the forward lower left crankcase between the base of cylinder No. 2 and the case split. The visual examination of the crankcase and the cylinder rocker boxes showed a lack of oil wetting of the internal drivetrain components. This was consistent with heat exposure during the fire. Inspection of oil and fuel hoses and other assemblies were damaged or compromised from the post-impact fire.
Much of the wreckage was consumed by the fire. Investigators were unable to determine the initial source of the oil leak conclusively due to the mechanical damage sustained during connecting rod separations and thermal damage from the fire. Additionally, the plane's recording tachometer was destroyed in the fire, preventing calculation of the airframe and engine times at the time of the crash. The logbooks could not be found during the investigation, preventing a comprehensive review of maintenance history, but an aviation mechanic who recently worked on the plane provided copies of some logbook pages, entries and a prebuy inspection report.
Available maintenance documentation records the last major overhaul of the Lycoming IO-360-A2B engine on June 6, 2005 at 924.9 hours since new. On Dec. 24, 2008 at 240.3 hours SMOH, all four cylinders were removed and overhauled due to the low compression and excessive oil consumption. The last annual inspection was April 15, 2023 at 683.8 hours SMOH. During the annual, the engine oil and oil filter were replaced. The No.1 cylinder was serviced due to low compression and the bore was honed and new gaskets and hold-down nuts were installed. The plane returned to service after an engine ground run and test flight, which did not reveal any leaks or concerns.
FAA records indicate the pilot purchased the plane on June 30, 2023 and a prebuy inspection on June 22, 2023 indicated that the airframe total time and engine SMOH were 1,585.1 and 684.5 hours respectively. According to the FAA registry, the Musketeer (N6945Q) was manufactured in 1968. On Nov. 11, the engine oil and oil filter were replaced and an oil sample was submitted to a lab for testing. The plane returned to service after an engine test run which did not reveal any leaks or anomalies. On Dec. 1, 2023 at 708.4 hours SMOH, an E-Z Heat oil sump heater was installed on the engine. An oil analysis report dated Dec. 5, 2023 indicated elevated levels of aluminum, chromium and iron. The lab commented that there was "a lot of metal in this sample" and that internal corrosion could be an issue if the plane had been sitting. The lab suggested a borescope inspection, compression test, monitoring oil temperature and checking the oil filter for evidence of metal. The lab report also said that excessive oil consumption could indicate engine issues.
The NTSB will continue its investigation to determine a probable cause for the tragic crash and release a final report in one to two years.